So Much to be Thankful For.

Might be a little late for posting this but thing were so busy right before Thanksgiving that I wasn't able to get it all done and the blog took a back seat.
We got to spend almost a whole week at home with the family for Thanksgiving! It was amazing. :) I love love love being at home with our family and friends though its hard sometimes to fit all of our visiting in to our trips.
I am thankful that we had an uneventful drive home. Thankful that I got to spend some much needed time with the 'rents. Thankful that I got to celebrate a BUCKEYE WIN!!! YAY. Thankful that everyone is healthy and happy at home!

Since we've been back we've both been trying to really clean up our eating habits and start back on our gym/workout routines. (And by we I mean me and the hubs) 

Ive started adding in a couple new workout plans that I have gotten through personal trainers and think that incorporating the two of them will be awesome!! One is a Booty Blasting workout and the other a full body. Each are 12week long programs so I definitely think that working them together along with my running will give great results! I can't wait to start documenting the progress. :) 

In other AWESOME news… Our running group "Diamonds and Laces" was accepted into the Nike Women's Half Marathon DC 2104!! AMAZE! We are all so excited. There are 9 of us and one girl ran it last year and said it was a great time. I can't wait. :) 

I have also been doing T25… still have some foot pain after doing it and so thought Id talk with a few ladies from Beach Body to see if they had heard of the same issues…. turns out I'm not alone… and it all has to do with the SHOES!

Seems I not only need to buy new running shoes but also shoes to do some cross training in. :) Who doesn't love a reason to buy new shoes!! LOL. I am sure the mister will be pleased to hear that I not only need 1 pair of shoes but 2. He'll think its a conspiracy haha. But must abide but what is best for the workout. Right??

Do you use different shoes for cross training/weight lifting and running?? Id love some recommendations! 

I've been running in Mizunos for about a year but I am on the lookout for something new. I need a little bit of support in the shoe but something light as well. :) I am coming off the IT band and bursitis issue and definitely CANNOT be sidelined again! 

What are your workout goals this winter… how will you avoid that holiday sweets/LBS!! 

Have a great evening. 

~EJM

Forgive me I fell off the wagon

Yes, I know it has been quite some time… (2 months) since I have done a blog post. Life got crazy busy with travel, work, the hubs return, more travel, more work, even more travel…. you know the usual. :)
And I had gotten a tad frustrated because I have been trying to find someone to work with to redesign the blog… it hasnt been easy… and as you can tell… not getting done either. :/ But I will keep trying. (Will take any suggestions any of you fellow bloggers may have)

Anyways, lots has happened since the last blog… I got the go ahead to run again… YAY! I did my first "starter" runs while on vacation in Florida visiting my aunt with my mom, aunt, and 2 cousins. The weather was perfect mid-September and I felt great out there on the road. :)

I also started doing T25 while I was in Florida but have since taken a break from it due to some foot pain. I am gonna actually restart it tomorrow along with my  21 Day slim down/clean eating plan as well. :) 

Since starting to run again I have gotten a slow start at it. I am only doing 1-2 miles at a time and running at around a 10minute pace. I know that I need to start slow but wish that I could just jump right back in full force… but I will not jeopardize things with another injury! 

I have signed up for the Nike Womens Half Marathon here in DC. Some friends and I signed up as a group… Diamonds and Laces :) and so now we wait until we hear if we got in or not! It will be my come back race and I'll start training in January for it. I am super pumped. But I have a back up plan just in case we done get in… and I will then sign up for the DC Rock and Roll Half and also try for the Cherry Blossom lottery draw as well. I may have some PTSD from the Cherry Blossom last year considering that is when I hurt myself to the point of needing PT and a break from racing. But with good training and LOTS of stretching I am determined to get myself back into the racing world!! 

Here are some pics from the last few months of travel and fun!! 

It has definitely been a great few months especially getting to spend time with the family and the hubs!! It has went by fast and I am looking forward to spending more time with the fan over Thanksgiving as well as starting my new fitness ventures and keeping you all much more informed. :) Thanks for sticking with me… 

Here are a few things I am gonna incorporate as well… 

And here is what motivates me….

haha. 

Happy running everyone. Have a great week.

~EJM

Did you say "RUN".. (in my Swirlgear) Yes Please!

So I am halfway through my physical therapy and this week has been great! My hip is feeling good and Ive not been having as much pain/discomfort! And my therapist on Wednesday said the word "RUNNING" and while she did precede it with "we will work back up to" All my ears heard was "RUN" I was so excited.... I definitely think this was my face!

And today at therapy I moved up to doing more strengthening/balancing exercises and even got to do the elliptical! She said if all goes well over the next couple days then I'll be able to do the treadmill on Monday!  

As much as I hate treadmill running, I will take it if it gets me back on the right track! YAY!

So all in all I would say this had been a successful week! :) 

Now I just wanted to chat a bit about Swirl Gear.

Many of you probably know that I am a Brand Ambassador for Swirlgear, a company that empowers woman by creating running apparel for women runners, by women runners. They are a brand new, women owned company out of Chicago and they need our help to get the word out there about our fundraising campaign on Kickstarter.com to produce the much anticipated, next line of apparel... and there are "special incentives" for your (much appreciated) contribution!! 

Here is our link on Kickstarter.com   Check it out   http://kck.st/14yH4Hi

Thank you so much for taking the time to check out Swirlgear! 

This company is amaze! They are now a 100% woman owned company! SwirlGear was created to give women some fun, cute, comfortable workout gear so that we have a chance to stand out in the crowd! I've chatted a lot with their Senior Manager and she is awesome, very helpful and so down to earth! Once I got word that I would be an Ambassador I then got to talk with Office Manager as well as the Regional Manager in my area. These ladies are amazing!! :) 

They are still looking for more Awesome ladies to represent SwirlGear...

Are you a motivated woman that's passionate about health and wellness? Do you enjoy receiving great incentives and being part of a supportive running community? Then you should become a Swirlgear Brand Ambassador! Contact Amy Shelton at amy@swirlgear.com or Marisa Flores at marisa@swirlgear.com for more information.

And if you'd like to check out their products feel free to check out their website www.swirlgear.com and use the code "SWIRLON" for free shipping! I cant wait to get my Pink Running Hoodie! :) 

Hope everyone enjoys their weekend!! 

Overcoming that Funk.

Hey there!! I have been MIA for a bit. Lots going on last week and was just in a funk. Had to put my big girl panties on and just face life head on! :)
I felt like I was having some set backs with PT because the hip/glute was still tight last week so we stuck with the stretches that I had been doing and then the heat/stim as well.

Then I got to spend a fab weekend with the mister and some of our friends at a local winery/brewery

my favorite wine!

And Tuesday this week I got great news at PT... I could finally start to move on to strengthening exercise!! YAY!

I was able to do some strengthening with the band, balancing exercises as well as step ups. :) I was excited to finally start moving forward. 

And then I worked that night... EEK! I had some pain and had to ice my hip a couple times throughout my shift but overall not super uncomfortable. I was able to make it through two shifts only taking Advil once! I had PT again today and was able to do the same strengthening exercises again and it felt good. I did have some popping but no pain in the hip area during the step ups but Aischa reassured me that it is probably swelling in that area and the fact that the hip is still fairly weak. And It still felt great afterwards finishing with ice/stim (prob my fav part) 

Where I spend my mornings twice a week...

Ice/Stim :)

            This was Stim from today before they put my ice pack on. :)











And I will keep on with my stretches at home and I am going to try and incorporate some stationary bike and elliptical this weekend.

I did order a Stretch it Out band like I use at PT and I have a foam roller to work with as well!



So I just have to keep my mind right and focus on my recovery so that I can get back out there and lace up those running shoes! :) 

HAVE A GREAT LABOR DAY WEEKEND!! 

~EJM

A new love for Ice Packs.

So I finished my first week of physical therapy... 2 days. So maybe this was me the 1st day...

On day two I met the second therapist that I will be working with Aischa. She was super nice but was dealt the task to start my stretching exercises and also to get me on the stationary bike and afterwards she quickly became my worst nightmare! Ha. Just kidding she was really great. She noticed that while I don't lack a lot of strength in my hip/quads I do lack flexibility it those areas. We started out with the the ultrasound therapy, then the roller stick (aka the devil)

I cringe when I see this but......                    


                                       
                                                   

It really does feel good yet painful at the same time. 

Then she did massage, and the heat/stim therapy (I'll work on getting some picks of things while I am there!) After that she had me doing some stretches with the Stretch It Out band  as well as some basic stretches that I'd normally do before running and then finished with 10minutes on the stationary bike. I thought I was doing really well until about 8 minutes into the bike and I could tell the hip was just tired. It started to ache quite a bit so once I was done I did 5 minutes of ice therapy before heading home. 

The ice packs there were pretty large (like this one)  and able to cover my hip and glute.  I need these for home!! :)

I did get the go ahead to do some low impact exercising as long as I can tolerate it WITHOUT any pain. That means eliptical and stationary bike here I come :) And the August workout is on hold for the time being. But I will definitely pick it back up when I get the ok from my therapists. 

Last night my workout was being on my feet for 12hrs at work... and today I am feeling it! :/ The hip is definitely achey and tight. So I'll be stretching before bed and may break out the small ice packs. 

Therapy this week is on Wednesday and Thursday... Hopefully doing two days in a row wasn't a mistake though they assured me that it is ok as long as I don't schedule it like that too often (this will be the only week I do that) :)

This seems to be logo everywhere! Not Funny!

Hope everyone is having a great start to their week. Happy Monday!! :) 

~EJM

Day 1 of Physical Therapy.

And so it continues... The work schedule seems to be keeping me from doing anything that I need/want to do. Oh the woes of being a night shift RN!

So Sleepy!

So now to play catch up! I have been trying to keep up with the August Workout posted on a previous post. I had to combine a few exercises into one day on Saturday at the gym so I just made it a full on leg day... knowing good and well that I would be paying for it later! It felt great to get in a full workout and cardio. I love the burn.. 

And then...  

So I did the penguin waddle for a couple days at work and cut down my water intake because it took so long for me to sit down to go pee haha. Just kidding, the hospital is too dry to not drink! 

Anyways I just prayed that it if I stretched it out that it would hopefully go away before my first PT session today! And Eh, I was a little too optimistic but I HAD to get this new chapter started so I could get myself back to training for long races and heck just back to running in general! 

My first session went great! I love my therapist Dianne already. She was great. Started out with just the eval to establish my baseline. Then we did some ultrasound therapy, stretches and then some heat/stim therapy. All in all was a great session and I can already feel a little improvement in my hip/IT band this evening. I can wait to bust out these next 6 weeks and get myself back to being healthy and strong!

Here is where I will be spending 2 days a week for 6 weeks...

I am actually excited... I really think that it will get me back in my running shoes!


So... is this how any of you other runners feel about injuries...

because I definitely had this reaction!

Hope every one is having a great week! 

~EJM

It's almost over I promise!

And by far the most memorable race to date... The Hot Chocolate 15K that was at the National Harbor in early DEC!!

For starters... there are only 2 ways in to this place if you dont take the metro (which we didn't) So the bottom left pic is just before Bre and I got our "warm-up" in by running down the highway for about a mile to make it to where the race started leaving our husbands to make their way to find parking... :) Love them!! <3

We then ventured to find the bathrooms (otherwise known as the 2 porta-potties placed furtherest away from the start line and conveniently located next to the woods. Needless to say the line was forever long and we didn't think we would make it through the line in time for our start time... so we made our way to the woods! And we weren't the only ones... haha. 

The start time was pushed back due to all the traffic delays, the 5K was directed to go the wrong direction and ended up turning around and running into the on coming runners so the 15K was delayed a little bit more. And then FINALLY we were off.... only to realize that miles 3-6 were going to be run on the highway... next to traffic!! The run by the water was a great view!! And then the finish... UP HILL!! Sheesh!! But I finished fairly well and had a 15K under my belt before the half! 

Needless to say The Hot Chocolate Race was NOT asked back to the National Harbor this year! haha. 

Next up... the ROCK AND ROLL HALF MARATHON DC!!

And here it was... what I had been waiting for/working hard to get to for just about a year. I was beyond nervous but had lots of Love and Support that day :) I was so lucky to have one of my best friends, my parents and the mister and Team Emily there to cheer me on. 

It was St. Patrick's Day weekend... hints all the green and my husbands funny leprechaun shirt so it made for a very festive atmosphere. There were bands along the course every few miles and part of the course was through a neighborhood so many people had made signs to cheer people on and set up water/gatorade stands as well. It was great motivation throughout the whole thing. 

I finished well (for my first half marathon) keeping a 9:45-10:15 pace throughout the whole thing. :) 

I almost forgot to pause the Garmin after crossing the finish line... EEK
And the sign my parents made me! :)

Team Emily.  (Megan and Fiona) 

The end... haha. Well the end of this post that is!  

Have a great weekend everyone! Happy Running! 

Lets get the Boring stuff over with!

Hey there!!
Here's a little insight to my background in running and the struggle that has gotten me to where I am today! Hope it is not too lengthy and snore worthy!! :)

For many that know me...I was not a "born" runner. "Run" was something that you only did if someone/something big and scary was chasing you!

In fact I don't even think that running was in my vocabulary before I got to college. Don't get me wrong I was an active kid/teenager. I was involved in dance, gymnastics and cheerleading until I graduated high school. It wasn't until I joined the dance team at my college during my sophomore year that I even knew that I could run (without someone chasing me) :)
As a member of the dance team we alternated working out at 0600 at the campus wellness center or doing an 0600 run through campus. It was then that I sort of became "addicted" to working out and kept with the workouts (sometimes 2 a days) even after I chose to leave the dance team to focus more on my nursing degree.
Following graduation in May 2008 ...

I moved to Northern Virginia with my fiance' because his job is here in the DC area. And I took a job in the PICU in N.VA. The east coast is a very exercise oriented/health conscious city. So I joined a gym nearby where we live with a close girlfriend of mine. We quickly became gym buddies trying out everything from weight lifting to spin class to Body Works class. It was just a routine for us and something that both of us really got into. She then got me into running. She was a born runner and in fact I think she has been running since before she was born. :) She was on teams all through school and college. She even completed the Boston Marathon with her Dad! HUGE Accomplishment for them! :)
I thought she would give me good motivation to just get out there and do it!!
My first race was in 2009 to benefit the Pediatric Cardiothoracic Surgery program at the hospital that I work at. It was an 8K and I thought "Eh, I can do that" Oh holy cow... that was miserable.
I was totally not dressed appropriately and clearly looked like an amateur wannabe runner. But I finished in just under an hour and thought to myself... "Why does anyone do this?'
I literally took a year off after that thinking "There is no way that I can do this! It is just not for me!" Then my dear, lovely friend of mine (Bre) who introduced me to running before got me back into it and pushed me and told me that "It doesn't matter how slow you go... you're still out there doing it and you'll finish and feel a sense of accomplishment!" And those words stick with me every time I get out there!!
So I then signed up for another 8K in DC with (Bre) just about a year later in March 2010. And wouldnt ya know I finished almost 6 mins faster than my first race a year before. :) I was so proud and so I gave it another shot. I ran a 5K in April and did better than I expected. I then had surgery later that month and the hustle and bustle of the last minute planning of the wedding got in the way and so I just stuck with a few workouts a week at the gym but nothing too strenuous and no running.
I got married July 2010... Aren't we cute?!! I could relive that day over and over!! :)

And after that it would be another year before I would get myself back out there to run again! I know I know... It was a super flakey start to my running career... Then in May 2011 I started my journey to my first half marathon.... and I stuck to it. Leading up to the faithful day (March 17 2012) I followed a Half Marathon for Beginners Training Plan...

And I signed myself up for races that corresponded to those long runs towards the end. It was the most exhilarating time of my life and yet I thought I'd never get to that Half Marathon. But I had Bre there pushing me all the way even running with me (on her slow days haha) and lots of support from my mom and dad though they were in Ohio and lots of love and support from the hubs... who isn't much for running more than 3miles. :) But it got me to where I wanted to be.  Here are a few photos from the journey to that big day! 

At a 5K to help benefit/honor a friends mom who lost her battle to cancer. Our first race together!! :) 

Th 10th Anniversary 5K to remember those lives that were lost on 9/11

TO BE CONTINUED.... I am sure this is causing many of you to yawn profusely :)

Happy 1st of the Month!

Hard to believe that it is already August!! Eek... where has this year gone!
I am not going to deny though that I am ready for the heat to subside and for the cool, crisp fall air to move in!! I am a sucker for cool nights curled up in my blanket with some hot apple cider and some good ol' Sunday Night Football!!
Dont Judge...

 I became a Dallas Cowboys fan (by default) when I met my husband. :)

I LOVE LOVE their stadium in Dallas... Everything is Bigger in Texas. That stadium is massive and they make some killer Margaritas!! 

                                            YUMMY!

Ok... back to topic. I decided to spice up the "Squat Challenge" and add this fun "Booty Workout" found on Well-Girls FB page (she has great inspiration and workouts) It is a fun spin on workin those Glutes!! :) 

Ok.. Must get myself up and complete Day 1 of this challenge and also ready for my night #2 of 3 in the craziness we call the life of a PICU RN! :) 

~EJM